Betrayed By a Friend
by Awesome Rapidash
Summary: When the anime begins Coco and Noel have already been captured by Gaito. While we do eventually find out how Noel was captured, we don't really know the circumstances that surrounded how Coco was captured. This is my take on what might have taken place.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**I own no part of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. If I did the anime would have long since been released in English! _

_**A/N:**We all know that when the anime begins Coco and Noel have already been captured by Gaito and his Dark Lovers. While we do eventually find out how Noel was captured, we don't really know the circumstances that surrounded how Coco was captured. This is my idea of how those events might have unfolded. _

_**Betrayed By a Friend  
>Chapter 1<strong>_

Warm golden sunlight filtered through the azure waters of the South Pacific Ocean. Colorful fish swam in large schools as a pair of dolphins swan nearby. Coco sighed softly as she pushed herself off of her green kelp bed and gave her yellow tail fin a gentle kick, fining herself across her lavishly decorated bedroom and over to a large window. Leaning forward the yellow pearl princess peered out into the bright waters of her home and her kingdom.

A smile filled the girl's face and a look of excitement glimmered in her golden eyes. But the sight of her kingdom wasn't what had her excited; she was waiting on the arrival of a friend! Someone whom she'd known for many years, someone she trusted with her very being.

A knock on the door drew her attention back inside the room. "Who's there?"

"It's me Saya, your Highness," a feminine voice from outside the room responded in a tone that was full of respect. "May I enter your room?"

Coco's smile faded slightly as she pushed herself away from the window and once again gave her yellow tail a kick, heading across the room to open the door. Once there she reached out, she grasped the shimmering brass handle and gave it a turn. As she pulled the door open the mermaid that now stood before her bowed deeply. Her appearance was similar to most mermaids that inhabited the South Pacific Ocean in that her tail was golden yellow in color. She was younger than Coco, no more than twelve or thirteen years old. She had blond hair which was loosely tied in a ponytail that floated gently around her shoulders.

She rose from her bow and smiled. "Your Highness, I have come to inform you that Princess Sara should be arriving within the hour. Do you wish to remain here and I'll inform you when she arrives?"

The elder blond smiled. "I want to be there when she arrives! Thanks for letting me know that she's just about here Saya, I really appreciate all that you do for me."

The younger mermaid bowed once again, hoping that Princess Coco wouldn't see the crimson blush filling her cheeks. "Y... you are very welcome Princess." With that she turned and quickly swam back down the well lit hallway.

Coco watched as her young ward swam out of sight. A smile filled the mermaids face as she pulled the door of her room closed and headed towards the main gate of the palace.

_**XOXO**_

Sara always enjoyed her visits to the South Pacific kingdom. Coco was a loyal and good friend whom the Indian Ocean Princess felt like she could tell anything. As she neared Coco's kingdom a thought crossed her mind. _"__Should__ I __tell __her__ about__ Mitsuki?__"_ She gave her orange colored tail fin a powerful kick and tried to push that thought out of her mind.

Sara swam over the top of a large rocky ridge where she paused for a moment, a large golden yellow colored palace filling her view. She smiled and took a couple of deep cleansing breaths before pushing herself off of the dark gray rocks and swimming directly towards the palaces main entrance.

_**XOXOXO**_

Coco was swimming impatiently around the entrance to her palace, pausing every now and again to look outside.

"I'm sure Princess Sara will be her shortly your Highness," Saya spoke respectfully. "Pacing back and forth isn't going to get her any faster you know."

The yellow pearl princess nodded and gave her ward a smile. "I know it's just that I look so forward to her visits. I guess I get anxious about her arrival."

A few more minutes seemed to pass slowly. Coco was about to question when Sara would arrive when Saya kicked her golden yellow tail excitedly pointed towards the entrance. "She's here! Princess Sara is here!"

Coco turned and a bright smile filled her face as she watched the Indian Ocean Princess swim inside. "Welcome to my kingdom Sara!" She said before wrapping her arms around the elder mermaid in a warm friendly hug. "It's wonderful to see you!"

Sara returned her friend's warm hug and smiled. "It's wonderful to see you to Coco. It's been quite a while since the last time I was able to visit you. I hope all is well."

"It is! I hope the same can be said for your kingdom." Coco replied with a grin. "It's been a long swim for you; would you like to relax a little?"

Sara gave her friend a smile. "Yes, that sounds like a lovely idea. I am rather tired now that you mention it."

Coco nodded. "We can go to my room and you can relax on my bed." She looked over at Saya who was swimming a short distance away. "Saya, could you please bring us some snacks?"

The younger mermaid bowed deeply. "Of course your Highness." With that she gave her tail a kick and swam away towards the castle's kitchen area.

Sara followed Coco down the well lit and elegantly decorated hallway as she swam towards her room. She was trying her best to hide the emotions that were swirling within her. _"__Could__ she__ really __tell __her?__"_

It didn't take long to arrive at Coco's room. She pushed open the door and motioned for the orange mermaid to come inside. Sara did just that and made her way over to the bed where she took a seat on the soft dark green kelp blanket that covered it. She took a deep breath and tried to maintain her happy facade.

Coco closed the door and swam over and took a seat across from the Indian Ocean Princess. She was just about to speak when there was a knock on the door. Coco pushed herself back up and headed to the door and opened it. Outside in the hallway was Saya with a silver colored platter filled with delicious looking treats and snacks. "Here are the snacks you requested Princess. I made sure to include the special treats for Princess Sara."

Coco gave the young mermaid a smile. "Thank you Saya." With that she pulled the door closed and turned back to face her elder friend. "Would you like some snacks? I had these made just for you."

Sara looked at the platter of delicious looking food but shook her head. "I'm sorry Coco, but I'm not very hungry right now."

A look of curiosity filled the yellow mermaid's face. "Really, are you sure? I had these made special for your visit since I know they are your favorites."

The orange mermaid sighed. "I'm sorry Coco; it's not that I don't appreciate the effort. It's just…, well; I'm just not in the mood to eat right now."

This confused the yellow pearl princess. In all the years that she and Sara had been friends, she'd never known her to act like this. "Um, Sara…. Is there something troubling you? You seem somewhat distracted."

Sara looked into the golden yellow eyes of her friend. It pained her deeply, but she just couldn't come up with a good way to explain to her friend that she had fallen in love with a human. No one could ever know that! "It's nothing."

Coco looked back at her friend. She had known Sara long enough to know that whatever was troubling her friend was something big. "Are you sure? We are friends Sara, so if something is bothering you it might help to get it off your chest."

Sara considered what her friend just said for a moment before speaking. "Sorry Coco, I know you mean well, but I'd rather not talk about this, even with you."

A worried look now filled the yellow pearl princess' face. "Are you really sure? I mean, sometimes things seem much worse when you keep them bottled up inside you. Talking them out could help."

The orange mermaid sighed. "I'm sorry Coco; this isn't something I can talk about. Not to you… not to anyone!"

"Are you in some sort of trouble Sara? Perhaps I can help you."

"It's nothing like that Coco, so don't worry." Sara sighed again. "I know this is hard for you to understand, but I need you to respect my choice not to talk to you about my problem."

Coco sighed softly. It was apparent that Sara was not going to tell her what was troubling her, at least not right now. Forcing her face into a weak smile, she took a deep breath before speaking. "Perhaps you will feel better after some rest. You can use my bed and I'll wake you when dinner is ready."

Sara pushed herself up from the soft bed and turned to her friend. "Thank you for the offer Coco, but I really need to go."

"But you only just got here! You can't be leaving already?" Coco stammered in surprise.

"I'm sorry Coco; you have been very nice to me during my visit and I really don't want to disappoint you."

Anger now filled Coco's face as she swam up to her friend. "But why, there is something going on isn't there Sara! First you don't eat the snacks I had made especially for you. Now you say that you're leaving after only just arriving! I don't understand why you are doing any of this!"

"Please understand my situation Coco; I'm not doing this to be mean to you. It's just that…. I need time to sort things out. I have a lot on my mind and I think it would be better if I was alone for now."

The yellow mermaid sighed softly. "I see. If that's what you wish… even though I don't understand it, I respect your decision."

Sara gave her orange tail a kick and swam over to her friend placing her arm around her. "Once I get this all sorted out, I'll let you know."

Coco nodded and forced her face into a smile. "Thank you Sara. Just remember, I'm here for you if you need some help."

"Thank you Coco I really appreciate all that you do for me. But I think this will be easier for me to handle on my own."

Coco nodded. "If you say so Sara." She watched as the orange mermaid swam over and opened the door to her room. "Are you sure that you don't want to stay for dinner?"

Sara shook her head. "Thank you for the offer, but I think it's for the better if I get back home as soon as I can."

Coco nodded, trying to hide the disappointment in her face. "As you wish Sara." Silently the two mermaids entered the hallway and swam through the castle towards the main entrance. Arriving there a short time later Coco turned to Sara and smiled as best she could. "I do hope that you get this all worked out soon. Then perhaps I can come and visit you in the Indian Ocean."

The orange pearl Princess returned her younger friend's smile. "Yes, that would be nice. I'll look forward to that!"

Coco moved forward and wrapped her arms around her friend. "Take good care of yourself Sara. Hopefully you can get this all taken care of and we can see each other again soon!"

Sara returned the warm hug and smiled. "I hope so as well. You take care of yourself too Coco. And don't worry, things will work out." With that Sara gave her orange tail several powerful kicks and departed.

Coco watched as her friend swam away, her vision blurring as warm tears welled in her golden yellow eyes. She remained at the entrance until the orange mermaid was well out of sight. She then turned and slowly made her way back to her room. She was still very confused about what might be troubling the Indian Ocean princess, but she trusted Sara's better judgment. She just hoped that the problem would soon be resolved.

_What the yellow mermaid didn't know was that their next meeting would be one that she would never forget! _


	2. Dark Heart Princess

_**Disclaimer:**I own no part of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. If I did the anime would have long since been released in English! _

_**A/N:**Big thank you's go out to **MercyUchiha,****Mayonaka****Naze,** and **Lucia****Sennen**for their reviews of the last chapter! Now without further ado we go on to chapter 2. _

_**Betrayed By a Friend**_

_**Chapter 2: Black Heart Princess**_

A warm lemon yellow sun shimmered down from a cloudless bright blue sky onto an orange tailed mermaid as she sunned herself on an outcropping of dark gray rocks just offshore. She sighed softly and watched as a pair of gulls fought over a small fish. She closed her eyes and thought back to her recent visit to the kingdom of the South Pacific. She mused silently if perhaps she should have told Coco about her problem instead of being so secretive. The Indian Ocean Princess shook her head slowly no, now wasn't the proper time for explanations. First and foremost, something had to be made perfectly clear!

A huge smile lit up her face as a young man came into view. "Mitsuki!" she called, waving with her hand to get his attention. "I'm over here!"

The young man smiled when she saw where the orange haired mermaid was perched. Picking up his pace he hurried over to the shoreline. "Hello, Sara. Have you been waiting long?"

The orange pearl Princess shook her head and gave him a warm smile. "No, in fact I just got here a short time ago. The warmth of the sun feels nice on my tail so I didn't mind the wait." Even though she was telling the truth about the length of her wait, it had actually felt much longer than that to her.

"That's good," Mitsuki replied, looking relieved. "I had wanted to get here a little earlier, but I was delayed unexpectedly."

Sara smiled. "Like I said, it was no problem. I'm just happy to see you after all!"

For the next few hours the two talked about anything they could think of. And even though most might not have found the topics to be all that exciting, to Sara, just being able to share time with him just made things wonderful in her mind.

The sun was just beginning to set over the distant horizon, filling the sky with dark hues of red and orange. Mitsuki looked out at the darkening ocean and suddenly became silent. Perplexed Sara looked at her human friend curiously. "Is… is something wrong Mitsuki? You look distracted by something."

"Hm, what did you say Sara?" He looked up for a moment with a slightly confused expression filling his face.

"I asked if you were alright," the mermaid replied. "You went silent all of a sudden and I was wondering if there was a reason for that?"

The dark haired young man shook his head and smiled as best he could. "Oh, nothing is wrong. It's just that… I have something rather special to tell you Sara."

Curiosity quickly replaced worry as the orange mermaid leaned a little closer to her friend wondering what could be on his mind. "Something special you would like to say to me? What is it?"

"Well… the truth is…" He stammered as he searched for the correct way to express himself. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves he finally continued. "I've felt this way for some time now, but I was unsure how to properly say it. But I'll say it now… I love you Sara!"

For a moment Sara was almost sure she had been hearing things. Could he have really just expressed his love for her? She could almost feel her body tremble as overwhelming joy flooded into her heart and spread throughout her entire body. Her orange colored orbs glimmered happily. "Oh, it's wonderful to hear you say that! I love you too, Mitsuki."

The pianist felt a huge wave of relief wash over him as he smiled at his beloved mermaid. He was about to continue when he looked out at the now rapidly declining sunlight. "I'm sorry Sara, but I have to go now."

A look of sadness and confusion filled Sara's face. Were they really going to part now, at such a special time in their relationship? Moments earlier they had finally been able to confess their love for each other and now he wanted to leave? No, not now! She wanted to be with him now more than ever before!

Mitsuki took immediate notice of the look in her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Sara, I'll see you again. I will return in two days, I give you my word on that. Good-bye my lovely mermaid." With that he turned and began to walk away.

Sara watched silently as he disappeared into the darkness before diving beneath the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. She gave her orange tail fin a powerful kick and headed back home. It would be difficult, but she knew he would return for her in two days and once again they would be together!

_**XOXOX**_

Each day for the next week Sara returned to that outcropping of rocks and perched herself there, waiting for her beloved human to return. But with each sun that set with him nowhere to be seen, disappointment and anger were beginning to replace the feelings of love within the orange mermaid!

At first Sara had tried to suppress the feelings of disappointment that she'd felt when he hadn't returned as promised. She tried in to convince herself with each passing day that he would be there the next time. But as time passed, it was becoming very evident to her that he wasn't going to return as he'd promised. This rejection made it ever more difficult to repress the rage that was beginning to boil her blood!

_Something within her was about to give and when that happened; the result wasn't going to be pretty…_

_**XOXOXO**_

As the sun disappeared beneath the horizon on the seventh day Sara came to the conclusion that he must not have returned her love after all. Otherwise why would he have abandoned her like he did? This sudden overwhelming realization filled the orange tailed mermaid with extreme anger, loneliness, and heart wrenching grief.

Hot salty tears filled Sara's eyes, blurring her vision as she raised her arms skyward, screaming in rage at the heavens."All I ever wanted was to become happy with Mitsuki... I never wanted to be born as a princess!"

Her anger now beyond her control, Sara raged into a cataclysmic tantrum that not only affected her kingdom but it also caused devastating storms and huge tsunamis to sweep across the entire Indian Ocean. At some point during her uncontrolled rage, Sara blacked out.

Now that Sara was no longer ranting, calm returned to the Indian Ocean. However devastation on an unimaginable scale had been left in the wake of her tantrum. Several hours later Sara regained consciousness. All she knew at that point was that her head was pounding. As she sat up and looked around an audible gasp escaped her lips. What she saw was beyond her belief. In her rage she'd utterly destroyed her own kingdom.

Sara swam silently among the devastation. "_Have__ I __really __done__ this __to __my __own__ people?__" _she mused to herself. _"__How __can __I __ever __face __them__ again?__"_

Now convinced that since she was responsible for the devastation of her kingdom, Sara swam away as fast as she could. Disgraced at her actions she was certain that there was no possibility of being forgiven and that she was no longer fit to be a called a princess.

What was worse was the hollow empty feeling that now filled the shell of her heart. After this she was convinced that she could never be loved by the ones that had loved her the most. As she swam further away from her kingdom, Sara thought to herself, "_It __would __be __best __if__ I __just __disappeared__ forever.__"_ With that thought echoing in her mind she swam away from the ruins of her ocean kingdom, and down into the blackest depths of the deep sea.

Sara descended into the icy cold blackness until she came upon a strange dark gray castle. Surrounding the stone structure was a heavy fence. Sara moved along the black iron until she came to a gate. At the bottom of the gate was a key.

Sara knew who the castle belonged to. She'd heard the legends and stories about the clan that Aqua Regina had sealed beneath the deepest depths of ocean. Now she was there, right before that very castle and the key that would unlock the gate of the castle was just sitting there, unguarded, just waiting for someone to pick it up...

_"I__ am __no __longer __a __princess.__I __am __no __longer __anything...!"_ With that, Sara picked up the key and placed it into the lock.

"_From __that __time __onward,__I__ threw __everything __away...__I __threw __it __away,__this __world __of __nothing__ but __lies..._

Even though she knew who was there, she had no idea what would become of her. Little did she know that these events were going to change her life in ways she ever imagined! But as she threw everything away from this point on, she truthfully no longer cared.


End file.
